Moskvoretskaya Embankment () is a major street, located in the

Kitay-Gorod Kitay-gorod (, ), also referred to as the Great Possad () in the 16th and 17th centuries, is a cultural and historical area within the central part of Moscow in Russia, defined by the remnants of now almost entirely razed fortifications, narro ...

administrative district in central

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, running along the

Moskva River The Moskva (, ''Moskva-reka'') is a river that flows through western Russia. It rises about west of Moscow and flows roughly east through the Smolensk and Moscow Oblasts, passing through central Moscow. About southeast of Moscow, at the cit ...

. It stretches from Kremlin Embankment, near

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

in the west, until the mouth of

Yauza River The Yauza () is a river in Moscow and Mytishchi, Russia, a left and largest tributary of the Moskva (river), Moskva in the Russian capital. It originates in the Losiny Ostrov National Park northeast of Moscow, flows through Mytishchi, enters Mosc ...

in the east. The avenue ends close to one of

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's Seven Sisters building on the

Kotelnicheskaya Embankment Kotelnicheskaya Embankment () is a street on the northern bank of Moskva River in central Tagansky District of Moscow, Russia. It spans from the mouth of Yauza River (west) to the point one block west from Bolshoy Krashokholmsky Bridge (east),Rus ...

. Nearly a kilometer long, until recently the embankment housed only two structures -

Rossiya Hotel The Rossiya Hotel () was a hotel in Moscow and was the List of largest hotels, largest hotel in the world from 1967 to 1980. Until its closure in 2006, it remained the second List of largest hotels in Europe, largest hotel in Europe, with 3,182 r ...

(demolished 2006-2007), and the historical Moscow Orphanage.

Rossiya Hotel

The enormous Rossiya Hotel stood adjacent to the

Moscow Kremlin The Moscow Kremlin (also the Kremlin) is a fortified complex in Moscow, Russia. Located in the centre of the country's capital city, the Moscow Kremlin comprises five palaces, four cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall along with the K ...

. The hotel was one of the largest in the world, and was built in 1967 at the order of

Nikita Khrushchev Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (– 11 September 1971) was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 and the Premier of the Soviet Union, Chai ...

, in the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

-era. Demolition began in spring 2006 and continues into 2007. City plans to replace Rossiya with a mixed low-rise block of hotels and offices.

The Orphanage

Another huge structure, extending 379 meters from the Rossiya Hotel site to Yauza Gates, is the Moscow Orphanage (''Vospitatelny Dom'', Foundling House). Conceived by educator Ivan Betzkoy, the Orphanage was laid down in 1763 to the decree of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. First stage (the central core) was completed by Carl Blank in 1770. In 1780s-1820s, the building was expanded westward by Giovanni Giliardi and his son,

Domenico Giliardi Domenico Gilardi (; 1785–1845) was a Swiss Italians, Swiss Italian architect who worked primarily in Moscow, Russia in Neoclassicism, Neoclassicist style. He was one of the key architects charged with rebuilding the city after the Fire of Mosco ...

; the eastern wing was completed only in 1940s. The orphanage, converted in 1812 to a military hospital, is one of the few downtown structures that survived the

Fire of Moscow (1812) During the French occupation of Moscow, a fire persisted from 14 to 18 September 1812 and all but destroyed the city. The Russian Empire, Russian troops and most of the remaining civilians had abandoned the city on 14 September 1812 just ahe ...

, defended by its staff. Today, it houses the Academy of

Strategic Rocket Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; ) is a military branch, separate combat arm of the Russian Armed Forces that controls Russia's land-based intercontinenta ...

, medical facilities and offices.

References

* P.V. Sytin, "History of Moscow Streets", citing original Russia edition: Сытин, П.В., "Из истории московских улиц", М, 1948. *

Yevgeny Tarle Yevgeny Viktorovich Tarle (; – 6 January 1955) was a Soviet historian, Marxist scholar, and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who studied and published on topics such as the Napoleonic invasion of Russia and the Crimean War. ...

, "Napoleon's Invasion of Russia", citing Russian edition of: Тарле, Е.В., "Нашествие Наполеона на Россию", гл.VI "Пожар Москвы" a

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